


Set Up Through Set Crew

by Osulity



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: High School AU, M/M, Set Crew, attempted humor, play production
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-01
Updated: 2015-07-26
Packaged: 2018-02-15 17:38:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2237706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Osulity/pseuds/Osulity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being an assistant manager for the schools play production is a fun role to have. Of course, who wouldn't love having power over people? Arthur Kirkland loved this role, everyone who wasn't a higher position of power on set obeyed him. Everyone, except the new Freshman who was rumored to be more than just a stage lackey.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Notorious For Being a Pain

**Author's Note:**

> Doing another High School AU, not much of a surprise. 
> 
> This story is going to be a story based on my experiences of working on set crew, but adding a basic story-line to it. Considering I will be working on set until the play actually happens, which is around December, how many chapters it will have is unknown. 
> 
> I know this is another UsUk fic- but I hope to be writing fics on other pairings soon. Maybe a PruCan or FrUk. I'll have to think about it. 
> 
> I'm keeping the same structure as my other story, the nations will not be using their native tongue often and I will be referring to them in their human names. Generally it's not hard to figure out who is who, but just in case, Feliks is Poland and Elizabeta is Hungary.

_When you have power over others, you call it order. If someone has power over you, it suddenly becomes oppression._

* * *

Arthur stood on the stage, clipboard in hand as he looked around at all the people working. Francis, a Senior, was walking in with Feliks, a Junior. Both were carrying fabrics to start making the costumes. He noticed the various colors of fabric both were carrying, the variety made Arthur wonder which fabrics would be made into what. Francis and Feliks both made it perfectly clear before heading out to pick up their supplies that no-one would see the costumes until they were done. Not even the sketch designs. The secrecy about this made the Brit nervous, how else was he to know if they were making the right amount of progress? He shook his head, he would just have to trust them. A task which was not easy being said or done.

Next, he checked up on Feliciano. Feli is a Sophomore who earned his respect last year when he managed to re-paint an entire set piece in one day when a Freshman carelessly spilt paint all over it. Feliciano hummed a cheerful tune as he labeled each can of paint by numbers in order by color. The Italian, and everyone else, found it easier this way than trying to remember each complicated name of every color. There were a few new recruits that were supposed to be helping Feliciano, but they were out in the back being lectured about the rules. There weren't many rules in play production, basically you did only what you were instructed to do and nothing else. The grip on that rule loosened the longer you've been here or the higher in rank you got. 

Arthur snapped out of his thought-process when he heard Feliciano calling to him. He looked down to see the Italian kneeling next to a few cans of paint, waving a piece of paper he had been trying to hand to the Brit. 

"Arthur! I need you to give this to Lud so he can start cutting out the pieces and build the set." Feliciano instructed, waving the piece of paper again. 

Arthur nodded and took the paper, walking towards the workshop as he looked over the design Feliciano had drawn. The sound of a saw grew louder as he drew nearer to the workshop. Upon walking in he wasn't met with the usual sight of Ludwig, but rather someone different. It was a boy with sandy blonde hair. His bangs tucked behind so they wouldn't block his vision through the goggles he wore to prevent the sawdust from getting into those sky-blue eyes. The boy's sleeves were rolled up to the elbows neatly and his hands were covered by gloves. If he was here than where was Ludwig? Arthur's thoughts were interrupted when the boy shut off the saw, the loud buzzing was fading off slowly.

The boy removed his goggles and set them aside, grabbing a cloth and cleaning off the machine of the excess sawdust once it was completely shut off. "Need Something?" the boy asked, this caught Arthur off guard as the boy hadn't made an ounce of eye-contact which led him to believe that the boy didn't notice his entrance. He was wrong.

"Um, yes actually. Feliciano needs you to have this made." Arthur quickly replied, handing over the paper. 

The boy took the paper and analyzed it, his expression indicated he was thinking something over. The measurements most likely. "Alright, I'll get working on it-- er.." the boy paused, looking over to Arthur. "What's your name?" he asked.

Arthur huffed lightly, anyone who joins set crew should at least know the names of those in charge. "I'm Arthur, Arthur Kirkland. Mind if I ask your name?" 

"I'm Alfred F. Jones." he grinned lightly. "I'll get working on the set right away, Artie." he replied cheerfully.

Arthur scowled at Alfred, "Don't call me that." he warned, though he judged by how Alfred acted, there'd be no getting through to him about that. 

The American rolled his eyes and retrieved some wood, placing it aside to begin cutting. He grabbed his goggles and placed them back on. 

"And make sure you have it done by today!" Arthur warned, not very impressed with Alfred.

"It gets done when it gets done, don't worry about it." Alfred murmured, waving his hand dismissively in Arthur's direction. He switched the saw back on and resumed his work. 

Arthur walked out and went towards the stage, the loud buzzing of the saw faded the farther away he got. He didn't fancy this boy's attitude, how dare he say that to him! "Francis!" the Brit called in an irritated tone. 

"Yes~?" Francis replied, walking out from seemingly nowhere. The Frenchman had his hands placed on his hips, a smug expression on his face, he already knew Arthur would be here to complain. 

Arthur scowled, crossing his arms. "I don't like him." he simply stated. 

"You don't like wh-"   
  
"Don't play dumb, Francis. You know who!" Arthur snapped, not even letting Francis finish his sentence. 

Francis shrugged, his smug expression fading. "I can't do anything about that, Arthur. I can't just kick him off or reprimand him because you don't like him. You have to remember he's a valuable addition to our team. He is able to get work done with precision and save us a lot of time." he noted, Francis knew Ludwig and Kiku would back him up on this. 

Before Arthur could dispute this further, Francis began walking off, saying something about how he needed to tend to his designs.

Arthur couldn't believe this. Everything about this kid irritated him. There were only four roles of power in set crew, Ludwig and Francis were the directors, the highest position of power for play production. Coming in second was Kiku and himself as assistant managers. If he didn't have any of the other three on his side about Alfred, there was almost nothing he could do. He could make this kids life a living hell in hopes of making him quit, but he knew Ludwig would be crossed with him. That was something he wouldn't want to see. Arthur figured he should also learn more about this kid, he never seen him before so he assumed he was a Freshman. 

Now Arthur had a goal; find out more about Alfred. He had a good idea on who to go see, Elizabeta Héderváry, she was a Sophomore who knew almost anything about anyone. Certainly she would give him some information about that idiotic boy.  **  
**

* * *

"Eliza, might I have a word with you?" Arthur asked, walking up to the set recruit. She was supposed to be helping Feliciano paint. 

Elizabeta turned around, she smiled warmly when Arthur approached. "What about?" she queried. 

"The new guy in the workshop, Alfred, do you know anything about him?" he asked, crossing his arms, speaking the boy's name felt poisonous. 

"Jones? Oh I know him!" Elizabeta smiled. "He's a nice boy, a Freshman, he joined set crew along with his twin brother Matthew, I have speculations as to why. He has both Sophomore and Freshman girls a flutter, but he doesn't even notice! He seems naive but he is really friendly." she had nothing but praises for Alfred, and that kinda pissed Arthur off. 

"Hmph. Didn't seem like much when I encountered him earlier. He has an attitude, that's for sure." Arthur murmured, sighing lightly. 

"I suppose he can come off that way when you first meet him. There is no doubting he can be loud and a tad bit obnoxious, but he makes up for it with his other qualities. I think you should just get to know him better." Elizabeta frowned slightly. "You really shouldn't be so judgemental of people you just meet. You might never know why they act the way they do-" 

Arthur scoffed, "He acts the way he does because he's a prick, that's why." he retorted. 

Elizabeta shook her head lightly. "No-one's a prick for no reason." Eliza paused for a moment or two, "Listen, I have to help Feli paint the set- just try to get to know him, okay?" she asked before heading off to wherever the Italian student was. 

Arthur sighed, arms still crossed. There was still an hour left, he had to make a choice to either follow Elizabeta's advice or get work done. 

By the time he had made him his mind, he had realized he was already walking towards the workshop. He personally didn't want to go, but he still trudged toward the dang workshop. You could no longer hear the sound of the power tools as you approached, rather you heard a hammer letting loose on nails. Upon opening the doors he saw Alfred already assembling the set piece. He had only been working for twenty minutes! 

"Nearly done?" Arthur asked, crossing his arms. 

The hammering abruptly stopped, Alfred looked up at the other, his brow was raised. "I told you it would be done--" 

Arthur held up a hand, stopping him mid-sentence. "I know what you said, idiot. I'm just surprised you're assembling it already." 

Alfred paused, setting the hammer down. "..Yeah, it's nearly done. Should be out in ten minutes." he murmured, confused with what Arthur said. Did Arthur intend to come off as complimenting or insulting him? 

"Good-- bring it backstage once your done, Feliciano and Elizabeta can begin painting it immediately." Arthur instructed, looking over to Alfred. 

"Look- Is there something you wanted or did you just come here to boss me around?" Alfred questioned, placing a hand on his hip. He grew slightly irritated with Arthur. He knew that both of them wouldn't get along. 

Arthur's cheeks grew red, no way in hell would he tell Alfred that he wanted to come by to spark up conversation. That chance was long gone. "No! I- I just came to see how things were coming along is all! Just-- have it done before we all have to leave!" he ordered before storming out. How dare he! Arthur knew he shouldn't have tried to follow Elizabeta's advice. It only ended up with a deeper hatred for the lad. 

For the rest of the afternoon, Arthur tried his best to avoid Alfred. When Al came by to drop off that set piece, Arthur merely glared from a distance. Arthur didn't care if Alfred was useful to the set crew or not, he was a pain to deal with. He already knew it was going to be a tough few months, he only had to make it till December when all of this would be over, then he could ignore Alfred for the rest of his high school career. 


	2. Everywhere I Go

It had only been two days. Two damn days. All of a sudden Arthur felt like he was seeing Alfred everywhere. Often they would pass by in the halls, and what's worse, they share a lunch period together. It wasn't all bad since he didn't actually interact with him, but it was still annoying to see his face. During lunch, Arthur normally sat with Eliza , Kiku, and another student by the name of Roderich Edelstein. Roderich was also a junior, he took part in band and did a lot of the music for their school plays. It was rumored that he once had a fling with Elizabeta back in middle school, how it ended depended on who you asked.  
  
Everything seemed to be going fine until he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Once again, he caught sight of that freshman, Alfred. They weren't sitting that far apart, perhaps a table or two in between them. Arthur didn't realize he was staring until he caught the gaze of Alfred staring back at him. He paused for a moment, unsure of what to do until he just ultimately looked down at the table.  
  
Eliza noticed this and let go of a light chuckle. "What, Arthur?"   
  
Arthur merely rolled his eyes, regaining his composure. "I just saw something stupid, that's all."    
  
With that statement, he earned a disapproving look from Elizabeta. "Arthur, remember what I told you a few days ago?"   
  
Sighing, Arthur gave an affirmative nod. "Of course, but I don't see a point in trying to be nice to someone I won't have to deal with in a few months. Once this play is done I'll be rid of him." 

"Unless he decides to help out with the competition play as well." Kiku added, finally joining the conversation.  
  
Oh no. Arthur had completely forgotten about that. He froze for a moment, what if he had to deal with Alfred for the rest of this year? What about next year? Arthur looked over to see Elizabeta have a smug expression on her face, knowing Arthur would have to follow through with her advice. He pouted for a moment, before getting up to go to class, "No way am I making friends with someone like him." 

* * *

Alfred paused when he looked over to see Arthur returning his gaze. "He's staring at me again..." Alfred mumbled with an unimpressed tone. This had been the second, no, third time he caught Arthur staring at him. He knew that Arthur wasn't fond of him, but _jeez_ , staring wasn't going to help it any!

"Maybe he likes you." Gilbert teased, letting go of a chuckle.   
  
Alfred simply glared as there was a loud thud followed by Gilbert shouting in pain. 

"What the hell, Al! Don't kick me!" Gilbert exclaimed, groaning in pain once more.  
  
"Well, don't say something ridiculous!"   
  
"It's not my fault you made him hate you on your first day!"   
  
"I- I didn't-" Alfred sputtered for a moment, becoming defensive. "It's not my fault the guy acts like he's a-"  
  
"Enough, guys." intervened Matthew, who had just about enough of their bickering.  
  
Both Gilbert and Alfred sighed, muttering an apology to one another. Matthew pressed his lips together to form hard line as he rolled his eyes. When the bell rang, everyone at the table collected their items, tossing them into their backpacks and the like. With Gilbert being in an upper class, he was headed in the opposite direction of Matt and Al. Matthew knew he'd see Gilbert later during set crew. No, Gil wasn't apart of play production but he still hung around after school. Gilbert's brother Ludwig was there, after all.   
  
Their lunch was rather late, so there were only three more classes until the end of the day, thank goodness. Alfred walked side-by-side with Matthew down the hall as they made their way towards their next class. Al had his backpack slung over one shoulder while Matthew neatly carried his books, his backpack being located in his locker. The two brothers looked awfully alike, if you didn't know them they'd be hard to tell apart when they stood next to one another.   
  
Matthew decided he would be the one to speak, "How's the building coming along?" he queried looking over to his brother. He could tell by the look on his brother's face that he was thinking of something entirely different. Of course, he had a hunch as to what Alfred was thinking about, but he knew questioning it would either fluster Al or anger him. He felt as if that was a topic best saved for later.  
  
Alfred shrugged for a moment, it took him a moment longer to process what his brother had asked."Oh!" he exclaimed when it caught up to him and he had fully snapped out of his own thoughts. "It's going good, I've still got a ways to go but it's going pretty well." he admitted, though Alfred narrowed his eyes, "Why?" 

It was then Matthew's turn to shrug, "No reason, just curious is all." Matthew looked forward, adjusting the weight of the books in his arms as they grew tired. "I'd wager that we'll have the set done pretty soon, you do work pretty fast after all."  
  
"Most likely, I've got Ludwig helping me so it should be done quickly." Al shrugged and stopped in front of the door that led to his next class. Before walking in, he turned to his brother. "Do you think this year'll be any good?" 

Matthew knew what his brother meant, he couldn't help but smile at the question. "I'm sure the play will be great, Al. We have all these amazing people working on it, after all." his words were encouraging. There was a familiar smirk that tugged on his brother's lips, one that usually came when Alfred wanted to make a remark, but knew it was better not to.   
  
The final warning bell rung, signalling for both brother's to take their leave. Alfred waved off his brother before retreating into the classroom while Matthew took off for his next class down the hall. 

* * *

 After school was done everyone apart of set crew, as well as the cast and others who usually hung around after school, met up in the auditorium. This was usually the meeting spot everyone went to until the directors showed up to signal the start of the work everyone had to do for the day. While some students talked with their friends in little groups, others were already starting the work ahead of time. It was usually the people in set crew as they had to set everything up to continue working on the set, costumes, etc. Feliciano was digging out the paint cans and brushes while Feliks and Francis were digging out their sewing machines and fabrics. 

Arthur had just arrived with Elizabeta as he set his backpack down in one of the empty auditorium seats as many other play production students did. It didn't take long for Eliza to head off to go help Feliciano with painting, and it didn't take Arthur much longer to realize he couldn't see Alfred anywhere. He furrowed his brows in thought, was he in the workshop already? Or perhaps he had gone home early? The Brit eventually gave up with a shrug, as long as he didn't run into him, he didn't care.  
  
"Look out!" an all too familiar voice exclaimed. Arthur turned to see Alfred and Matthew carrying in a large amount of lumber. They almost accidentally hit Arthur as they raised it up to snake it through the thin hallways of the school, hoping to avoid collision with anything fragile or breakable.   
  
Arthur, who quickly recovered from the minor shock of sudden appearance of the two, had his mood immediately sour. "Watch it!" he warned as he shot glares in Alfred's general direction. 

His warning was not well met as Alfred merely stopped dead in his tracks, turned to face Arthur, only to have the very gaze he gave be given right back to him. "I wasn't the one standing idly in the middle of the hallway!" Al snapped, narrowing his eyes at the other. Matthew, on the other end of the plywood, remained silent.   
  
Arthur clenched his jaw as the two walked away, there was no way he was going to leave it this way. He of all people would not feel defeated. With his fists clenched tightly, he followed Alfred back to the workshop. Alfred had just set down the plywood when Arthur pulled him outside for a little 'chat'. "What is your problem?" those words, though Arthur was sure at first he said them, was surprised when he realized they didn't come from his mouth. It was Alfred who was the first to speak up.

Arthur didn't like this one bit, given the fact that Alfred was an inch or so taller would have made him feel threatened, but he felt more infuriated than anything. It took a moment to think, his anger was clouding his thoughts. The Brit did realize, though, that this would go absolutely no where. There was no point in starting, or even continuing, this argument. He let out a sharp sigh and crossed his arms.

Not only that, but he was sure Elizabeta would be on his case if she found out he had fought with Alfred. No, she _would_ find out and she _would_ be on his case. "I have a proposition for you. It's clear we don't get along, so why don't we just stay as far away from each other as possible?" the suggestion, though he knew it was going against Eliza's advice, was the best course of action right now. As much as he wanted to tell the American exactly what he thought about him, it would only end up worse in the long run.

Alfred remained silent for a moment, his expression going from anger to a bit of confusion. He was expecting a different response from the Brit, but it never came. Hesitantly, he nodded, unsure if Arthur really meant it. "Fine." both parties knew that it was not fine, nor was it ever. Despite how both of them thought that they hated each other, they couldn't deny that there was some element of intrigue as well. Things between them had gone sour so quickly, and they doubted whether that would change. All they knew was that staying away from one another was in their best interests for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been a long time since I updated, well, anything, but my time gone has not been in vain! I do have the rest of this story plotted out and other story ideas thought out and planned as well. I probably won't post them until I have a good chunk of it done, but I'm not entirely inactive.


End file.
